Pensioners make fighting fund for solicitor to stop cuts to sheltered housing & care homes

 Barnet Eye Guest Blogger Linda Edwards requested that the Barnet Eye post this Notice. We are happy to oblige. There is also a short message from Linda after the press release text

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Solicitor Yvonne Hossack who helped the disabled and elderly by preventing the closure of 80 care homes was refused legal aid to prevent the removal of Sheltered Housing Wardens from Sheltered Housing Schemes. 

Yvonne fought a high profile legal battle to prevent Barnet and Portsmouth Council removing Wardens from their boroughs.   If removed it would leave the elderly and most vulnerable at risk.   In December 2009 Barnet and Portsmouth City Council had dropped their appeals against a high court Judges decision giving Yvonne and the elderly a great victory.   

 

Earlier this year the Legal Services Commission made the decision to block Yvonne’s application for a legal aid contract, because of a minor typo error on the form.

The Commission saw the error and blocked the application stating that it would be unfair on everyone who had filled in the form correctly if they were to allow Yvonne to amend it.   What the Commission didn't tell Yvonne was that 795 other firms had also made mistakes, but they had been allowed to correct their mistakes and had subsequently been given legal aid contracts.

Is there a conspiracy to stop Yvonne helping the elderly?

Is David Cameron deliberately trying to prevent his policies and council policies from being challenged in court?

David Young the chair of the UK Pensioners strategy committee said

“We know what Cameron’s trying to do; we may be old but we’re not stupid.  We’re calling upon the elderly, the young and the disabled across the United Kingdom to support a fighting fund, which was set up to help Yvonne continue her legal battles to save  sheltered housing and care homes for pensioners and for our children who will need them in the future.   Considering the efforts and sacrifices she has made for us I think it is absolutely vital that we support her in any way we can. ”

Please make a donation for the fighting fund to

‘Hossacks Equality Law Principles’

HSBC BANK PLC: Sort code 40 32 04

Account number: 41580663

Or send postal orders or cheques payable to

‘Hossacks Equality Law Principles’ to

Mrs Mary Clarke-Bake, Treasurer of Hossacks Equality Law Principles

          8 York Street, Market Harborough LeicestershireLE16 7PF

For more information telephone:  Norman Adams 078 439 302 19
Email: ntactnorman@googlemail.com

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Message from Linda Edwards,

As a recent guest blogger on barneteye (concerned carer), I would appreciate any support for this campaign.  Yvonne Hossacks has been the one person who used her legal expertise and deep sense of injustice, to work with the system to make necessary changes for vulnerable people.  For all the people that she has helped, including people in sheltered housing and care homes, supported living and living alone, thank you for all you have done for us all, including my daughter.  Your input and involvement has been greatly instrumental in finding resolutions for my daughter and making changes for her quality of life and for many people all over UK.  Your involvement has been invaluable in making a huge difference to how my daughter has “been heard” by LBB Adult Social Care and Health.  If only Yvonne's support, skills and expertise wasn't needed!  It shouldn't be if the "Care System" that has been set up to work on behalf of vulnerable people had not betrayed us!

Linda Edwards
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The Day Barnet Council sold out its pensioners

Have you ever been for a pint in Northumberland? or Barnsley? or Thurgoland? If like me you have, you've probably been rather surprised at how much change you got back when you handed over a tenner. What has this got to do with Barnet Council. Well Councillor Sachin Rajput tonight announced that £163.75 is a fair living wage for a UK pensioner. This is the Uk wide figure, deemed the UK fair living wage for someone above pensionable age. Mr Rajput announced at the Barnet Cabinet meeting that this would be the basis for all charging calculations with regards to payment for services.

Planet Earth calling Councillor Rajput (and the rest of the Tories). In case you hadn't noticed, Barnet is one of the most expensive places to live on Planet Earth, let alone the UK. Whilst £165.75 might get you a decent lifestyle in the places listed above, it wouldn't get you a decent dinner at some of Councillor Brian Colemans favourite restaurants in Barnet. Barnet Council have decided that everyone should pay for services if they can afford them. Fair enough I hear you say. Is it fair enough if you use the UK average as your basis for calculation, if you live in the 4th most expensive Borough in the Country.

Sadly, it seems that common sense has completely bypassed our councillors. Councillor Rajput announced that 3% of the elderly population required 63% of the budget. This must be wrong, he exclaimed !!! Well think about it for a second. If 3% need constant supervision, 17% need some help and 80% need none at all, then of course 3% will use up 63% of the budget. I remember my own father. He died aged 69 of a heart attack. In his entire life, he never received a penny in benefits, other than an old age pension, which he'd spent a lifetime paying in to.  My Mother never claimed a penny either, until she had a stroke aged 75 and needed help to live independently. The difference between an able bodied pensioner and one with age related issues is huge. 64% of Barnet pensioners need no intervention whatsoever. This is a figure Rajput neglected to inform his cabinet colleagues of. Being over 65 doesn't mean you need a care plan. Being infirm does.

What Rajput and the rest of the dim Tories seem to have ignored is that the frailer you get, the more it costs. As they sat there, self righteously pontificating, I was struck by a vision of them all in 20 years time, senile, incontinent and unloved. Who knows when such tragedy strikes.  I saw my mother changed from a proud, independent, self reliant woman to a totally dependent wreck, in the course of a few minutes by a stroke. I used to think I'd never wish that on anyone. I hate myself for saying it, but as I watched Lynne Hillan (the woman who moved her mother to a location where the wardens were being retained, just before announcing the warden cuts) pontificating on the issue, I said a silent prayer for some poetic justice.

I simply couldn't believe just how rude Lynne Hillan was to David Young, the man who stopped the destruction of Sheltered housing warden service with a court case. She should have apologised to Mr Young, for ruining his elder years, instead when Mr Young exercised  his constitutional right to ask a question and Ms Hillan treated him like an idiot. Even before he started she insulted him "Keep your supplimental question short". According to the timetable, 1/2 and hour was allocated for public questions. There were four questions and they took 14 minutes in total. Hillan thought this too long and refused to answer Mr Silverman or Mr Young in any proper manner.

There is one question I have for Lynne Hillan. How can you look in the mirror on the day you sold out the pensioners of Barnet.

Rejoice, Rejoice - Barnet Council drops sheltered housing appeal

The Hendon Times reports that Barnet Council Leader, Lynne Hillan, author of the Sheltered Housing warden cuts, today announced that the Council has abandoned its plans for an appeal. Furthermore, the full cost of wardens will be met by the Council.

I cannot tell you how pleased I am for the elderly and disabled of Barnet. Hats off to David Young, who launched the appeal. On the night of the Cabinet meeting where Barnets Tory Council decided to scrap the wardens, I trudged dejectedly outside, after the decision had been announced. I bumped into Mr Young and his solicitor. They informed me that they were launching the court case and gave me a copy of the letter they had served on Barnet Council informing them of the intention to launch a judicial review. I promised Mr Young that I would place that letter on the blog that night.I pledged to do everything I could for the campaign. I was given renewed hope by Mr Young, that all was not lost.

That letter is the most downloaded item on this blog. Mr Young has set a shining example to all of us as to what you can achieve if you are prepared to fight. Whilst Mr Young deserves all of the credit, there was a huge campaign across Barnet. We marched through the Council Leaders ward, bringing traffic to a halt. We held rallys at Council Meetings. We wrote blogs, letters to the local paper and left comments.

Make no mistake though, the reason Lynne Hillan has dropped the appeal is because there is an election this year and she knows it will damage her bedrock support. She has killed the issue, for this years budget. If you read the article carefully, you will see that she quite clearly indicates that she's planning to try it on again in future.

Pensioners in the twighlight of their lives such as Mr Young, should not have to launch court cases against their own council. When you put your vote in a box, to elect a new council in May, be sure that if you select a Conservative Councillor, you will be voting for Warden cuts, more court cases, due to botched policies, more slapdash management, more potholes in the road, where budgets are cut. If you think Mr Young has had enough aggravation, give Hillan and her cronies a wide berth when you vote.

Tonight, I'm taking my wife and children out to celebrate. We'll toast David Young and his feistyness. I am over the moon for him and all of the other residents in Barnet.

Man and Woman of the year 2010 - David Young & Yvonne Hossacks

I can't let the year pass without a mention of the Man of the Year - David Young, who took on the might of Barnet Council and won.  The BBC lists all of the recipients of honours this year - Jensen Button, Status Quo and Patrick Stewart to name a few. All fine candidates, I'm sure, but how many of them have saved a life? How many of them have removed a climate of fear in which hundreds of people were living? How many have shown huge personal courage in their twighlight years. For those of you who don't know of David Young, he's the guy who lives in sheltered accomodation in Barnet and took the council to the High Court when they passed the decison to remove the wardens. Barnet tried every trick in the book, including trying to have his solicitor Yvonne Hossacks struck off (again thrown out by a wise judge). Which leads us nicely to the woman of the year, Yvonne Hossacks. I hope and pray that in some small way this blog has helped them in their fight.

Her Majesty the Queen should summon the dynamic duo (Young and Hossacks) to the Palace and bestow the highest honour she can on them forthwith. I'd personally like to see her Maj also send the author of this awful policy, Barnet Council Leader,  Lynne Hillan, to the Tower for a period of reflection

As an Elderly lady who receives an excellent warden service at the taxpayers expense, I'm sure our good Queen can appreciate why these two are my man and woman of the year. Massive hat tip here to VickiM for reminding me of the compelling need to bestow this award (for what it's worth).

The Barnet Eye wishes all of it's readers a fantastic New Year. Lets all make a New Years resolution to fight injustice in this world in all it's shapes and forms.

When you know you've lost the plot

Don't Call Me Dave, Barnet's most sensible Tory, is on tip top form today on his blog. He details how the High Court has pulled the plug on Barnet's dangerous and spiteful scheme to get rid of wardens at sheltered housing establishments in the Borough. This scheme is the brainchild of leader Mike Freer, who is happy to spend millions on "consultants" to dream up blue sky scheme's but can't see that Sheltered housing wardens are more important than huge allowances for him and his mates (the saving is far less than the amount they get in allowances etc). Click here to read the full blog.

David sums it up pretty well, I urge you to read his blog. The only thing I can really add to Davids comments is this. I met David Young, the guy who launched the legal challenge in Barnet. He may be 78, but he's articulate and formidable. As we discussed the situation, I realised that if Barnet's Tories, Mike Freer and Barnet have chosen to go to war with someone like David, they really have lost the plot.

I wish David Young every success. I hope he saves Barnet Council and Mike Freer from their own stupidity with his challenge

Updates 23:42 - Thanks to Paul for pointing out the dodgy link